Tamara Mellon, the founder of the Jimmy Choo fashion empire, is putting the finishing touches to a global chain of upmarket retail outlets as the showcase for a new lifestyle brand.

I understand that Ms Mellon, who quit Jimmy Choo after the upmarket footwear brand's sale to Labelux, a Swiss fashion label collection, has drawn up plans to open flagship stores in the next couple of years in Brazil, Hong Kong, Qatar and Singapore.

These 'showrooms' for her new Tamara Mellon-branded venture will be in addition to others in London, Los Angeles and New York.

Sky News revealed last month that Ms Mellon was raising $25m (£16m) from investors including Michael Spencer, the former Conservative Party treasurer, and Tory Burch, the US-based fashion entrepreneur who is a close friend of Ms Mellon.

The fundraising is understood to have been completed in the last few days and an announcement is expected shortly, according to insiders.

Details of Ms Mellon's plans follow the expiry of a non-compete agreement she signed when she left Jimmy Choo more than a year ago.

The company's sale left her with an £85m fortune but a succession of takeovers of Jimmy Choo during the last decade prompted her to lambast private equity investors for their approach to business.

Among the other new investors in her new venture are David Ross, co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, and Lord Marland, who co-ordinates the Government's Business Ambassadors programme.

Ms Mellon, who lives in New York, is among those who serve as ambassadors for British business during overseas trips.

A spokesman for Ms Mellon, who also sits on the board of Revlon, the cosmetics group, declined to comment.